I was introduced to the game at an age of three. A Messi-fan, I want Argentina to win the World Cup. But will it be Brazil this time?

Text: Soccer has always been a part of my life. I am 11 years old. I was introduced to the soccer ball at a very early age by my dad. Ever since I was three, I had been doing something with the soccer ball; whether it was throwing it up in the air, kicking it as hard as I could or even tripping over it.

I still remember the first time my dad signed me up for a soccer camp when I was four. I think our team was called ‘Jackrabbits’ and we were a bunch of four-five year olds who were just asked to run around the park with soccer balls.

At that early age, I barely knew how to play. As I matured, I started getting the concept of the game. My dad always made a point of watching a good soccer match on TV with me. He tried very hard to introduce the basic concepts to me as we watched the games. I started to get an understanding of the various positions and quickly realised that I wanted to be involved with the offense.

As I learned, my interest in the game kept growing. My dad showed me videos of many famous players such as Maradona, Ronaldo, Messi, to name a few. Diego Maradona seemed to pop up the most in my dad’s searches and I was amazed to see his magical ball control and awesome skills.

Maradona was an amazing dribbler, could accelerate with the ball in a split second and juggled anything from a soccer ball to oranges and even huge bouncy balls. And, I realized that all the great soccer players have the skill of ball control, speed and stamina. I also have seen video footages of Messi, Rooney, Ronaldo, Kaka and Pele. It was inevitable that I started to develop an affinity for becoming a striker or an attacking midfielder.

I am lucky to be growing up in San Diego, CA where soccer is extremely popular. There are many clubs throughout the county. In my neighborhood, I have been involved with the Scripps Ranch soccer club for the last five years.

Every year I sign up; we are drafted by coaches to form teams and then play matches every Saturday from September through to December. For me playing soccer is one of the most fun things that I look forward to. It’s not just the game; I love my teammates and the coaches. We train twice every week after school. I make new friends every year and at the end of the season I do miss my team and coaches. I like to score goals or be involved with the offense.

I always play forward or in the midfield although sometimes my coaches like to rotate all the players in different positions and I have played in defense as well but I do enjoy the thrill of offense. I have scored many goals for my team over the years.

I cannot wait for the World Cup to begin. One of the cool things about the World Cup is that it is in the summer when school’s over and I can enjoy it all the way without thinking of tests or homework.

The World Cup song is also an interest of mine. This year the tournament is in Brazil. What an amazing experience it would have been if I could be in Brazil and see a soccer game live from the stadium. I hope the World Cup returns back to USA and then I’ll definitely try to get tickets to see the match live.

I keep thinking who will win the Cup this year? Whose World Cup will this be? I like Messi and would like Argentina to do very well. Of course, there is USA and I hope that we go deep into the tournament but I hear from my dad that USA is in a tough group with Germany and Portugal.

Will it be Brazil in Brazil? Or will it be Spain again? Whatever happens, one thing is for certain, for the next one month, I’ll be watching a lot of games.